Club Scene
Winnipeg Frontrunners
In 2011, Wally Mah moved from British Columbia to Winnipeg. Having recently come out, he was on the lookout for a local lgbt2sq+ running group in his new city. Failing to find anything, he decided to create his own group in June of that year, where local lgbt2sq+ runners could meet. “Because we are minorities, it is hard to find each other and connect,” Mah says. “By having a sports group, it is a way for us to congregate and build community.”
And so, the Winnipeg Frontrunners were born and immediately amassed a following. As part of the International Frontrunners organization, a global lgbt2sq+ running and walking group that now includes 10 branches across Canada. Mah’s crew received support from the community right from the get-go. “Winnipeg is an inclusive city. You can see some businesses display rainbow stickers and stores like mec and other running groups, like the Winnipeg Run Club, have invited us to participate in their running events,” he says.
The Winnipeg Frontrunners welcome all levels of runners on their weekly Saturday morning runs, which take place from March to November. “We meet at The Forks, which is a historic meeting spot of the Indigenous people and where the Assiniboine and Red Rivers converge. There are several trails that we can run so we rotate every week,” Mah says. These outings take runners through the French quarter of St. Boniface and into the older neighbourhoods of the city. Each week, different people take the lead and decide what route to follow. The runs always finish at The Forks for coffee, where partners and friends can join. “It’s a good time to talk about what’s on our mind, our past week and lgbt2sq+ issues. Most of our daily lives are spent being outside our community so this is the only time we can connect with our community and express ourselves freely without judgment,” Mah says.
In addition to founding the run club, Mah also set up the Winnipeg Frontrunners Pride Run in 2015. After participating in Toronto’s Pride and Remembrance Run in 2014, he was inspired to bring a similar happening to the city of Winnipeg. “I thought it was an amazing event that brought so many people together and made me question why we didn’t have one in Winnipeg,” Mah recalls. 2020 is a big year for Winnipeg Pride, as the city will also host Canada Pride. “We are inviting Canadians across the nation to participate in our Pride Run,” Mah says, which will take place on May 30, 2020. The Pride Run serves as a fundraiser for Reaching Out Winnipeg, an organization that helps lgbt2sq+ refugees and newcomers to settle in Winnipeg. The run is open to runners and walkers of all ages from the lgbt2sq+ community and their allies.
Groups and events similar to those organized by Mah help his community, however, more can be done to make the running world a more inclusive space. “One way is looking at how people register for running events,” Mah says. “Most times, people can choose only male or female, which is not applicable for some runners. They may identify as non-binary or prefer to not say because they don’t want to be labelled or put in a box. We need to be mindful that runners are diverse, and open to change with respect to the registration process.”
“Because we are minorities, it is hard to find each other and connect…by having a sports group, it is a way for us to congregate and build community.”